Man Candy
by Singstar Master
Summary: It was so unbelievable, it just couldn’t be true! Naturally, it was. Gaa/Saku Rating may rise
1. Unwrapped

* * *

You stand akimbo and think through the changes that will soon be taking place in your life

Lostprophets blares from your headphones as you stand akimbo and think through the changes that will soon be taking place in your life. As soon as you open the front door, you'll be forced to call a place you've only ever been in before a few times you're new home. A grime builds up in your stomach and you feel sickened by the mere realizations. Things really will never be the same and there isn't a thing you can do to prevent the changes. _How depressing_.

You shook your head and felt a determination build up inside of you. You loved the people who lived here and knew it was for the best. You had to grow up. You decide to try to reposition your bags so you can get a hold of the handle when –

"Oops, sorry! Sorry! I am SO sorry!" You sigh. Not even two minutes of being on the property and your cousin has already caused you trauma. She obviously figured she'd open the door at the precise time you were going to and – seeing you struggling with your countless luggage – decided to assist and take some from you. But on her way over, she tripped over the placemat and toppled outside. The end result: her knees digging into your upset stomach and the back of your new shirt absorbing dirt from the garden you were on. Oh, and the bags were scattered over the front steps.

Good luck balancing _those_ on your shoulders again.

"It's alright, Tenten, really…"

"No, no! I didn't – oh god, sorry!" She stepped on your hand as she tried to gain balance and stand up. "Here, let me help clean this up-"

"Tenten, _my foot_…"

"Ah, sorry – anyways, hi!"

You smile and find yourself feeling genuinely happy – only Tenten could make you so happy with so little effort. "Hi back. I have to ask when you became such a clutz, though."

"Ahaha… I thought you knew me better, Sakura."

You tilt your head. "I do?" you think to yourself. Then you have flashbacks of every occasion Tenten's athletic build turned to mush and she transformed into The Walking Mass of Jello. You think harder and associate her feelings of uneasy to her unbalance. Why would she feel unea- oh.

She feels uneasy because of _you_.

* * *

**Man Candy**

**First Piece: Unwrapped**

**Insert an entertaining yet informative disclaimer stating the fact that I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related here. Also insert the same thing stating that I also do not own Lostprophets.**

* * *

Tenten helped you pack and the two of you reminisced as you did every time you got to hang out. Because you lived so far away from each other and only met up in person on holidays or random dates, you also gossiped about every detail you could. Something you had noticed was Tenten was still a hazard to herself which meant she hadn't gotten anymore comfortable since that morning.

"So when're your parents getting home?"

She dropped a drawer she had pulled too far while putting my pants away. The guest room was something out of a fashion magazine thanks to her mom's in with interior designers (her roommate in college was one and conveniently lived across the street). So, she felt uneasy about the topic of parents, did she? You felt a smug smile set in on your face.

"Uh, oh, my parents! Well, my mom's in Vancouver right now. She's working on a big wedding there for a couple who need her there until they're on the plane to they're honeymoon destination – so she'll be back later on Thursday. My dad is going to be home around five-ish."

"So you don't want to know about my mom?"

She stopped and gave you a smile, her eyes looked sad though. But Tenten didn't cry, so it's not as if her eyes were glossy or anything. "I know enough."

You beam at her. "I'm not sad, you know."

She looks up at you with the word "Confused" stitched to her forehead. "But it's your mom, Sakura. She's so… so…"

"Messed up?" Tenten nods, looking a bit ashamed. You let out an airy, light laugh. "I'm not sad or angry at all! The opposite! I'm so happy for her. I mean we get to write to each other and talk on the phone and stuff. It'll only be until she gets clean and then I can move back in. In the meantime, I'm glad to be here." You smile wider, deciding to tag a compliment on the end to keep her from feeling in the dumps. "Besides, you were always my _favorite_ cousin."

She snorts. "Bullshit… but thanks."

You appreciate her sudden change of topic and feel relaxed when she gets her balance back (she saved you from tripping down the steps while you were dragging luggage to your room).

Once you were settled in, you both grabbed as many snacks as you could and smashed them on the coffee table before getting comfy on the sofa.

"So, how's Neji?"

"Eh, he's a little moody lately. His fan girl group just found out his locker combination and he's not allowed to get a new one," she answers as if every guy had a problem with avid fans for just existing. You knew Neji as one of Tenten's two best friends, though you never met him or the other guy. From the descriptions Tenten gave you of him, you knew these things: he was good looking (she never actually said anything about his looks, but how else could he have fan girls?), smart (extremely, she would say), talented (at what you weren't too sure), and nice. _Very_ nice. Tenten only ever talked about how wonderful of a friend he was. Now, since you were probably going to be here a while, you were hoping you'd get to meet him.

"When will I get to meet him?" you wonder aloud. "And the other guy you hang out with all the time?"

"You mean Lee? He comes over every now and then, so he should be coming home from school with me tomorrow."

"And Neji?"

"Not so often. I'm hard-pressed to find a time he wants to leave his estate on freewill. He has _everything_ there – a movie theater, a golf course, a fricken' _dojo_ – but if I'm sure if I ask him enough he'll stop by."

"Gee, what great friends you have! One you can't get rid of the other can't get rid of you." Tenten rolled her eyes at you. "I personally have more than two friends so it confuses me that you can only make time for two."

"Hey! I have a lot, too. They're just special… in more ways than one."

The door squeaked open and slammed shut. You listened as stomps came from the front hall and grinned at the figure producing them, who poked his head out from behind a corner. "There's my number one niece! How are you, my pink-haired beauty? Well? Get up off your lazy ass and give your uncle a hug! Kids these days…"

You laughed at your uncle's crude humor as Tenten shook her head toward the rug on the floor. You leapt up and ran into your uncle's arms, squeezing him tightly. "Hey there, Uncle Neil!"

"Hey back. You doing alright?"

"Yeah," you say with the same reassuring smile you have been giving to Tenten all day.

"Good. Well, I have some news. I left work a bit early… well, I skipped it completely to go see your mom after you left. She told me not to worry you, but that she might be there for a while and you can't just not go back to school…"

You're jaw drops. Start school? "When?"

"Well, tomorrow's Monday and you already have all your stuff here and ready, right?"

Whoa! A new home – okay. A new school? When'd you agree to this? Selfish – you're being selfish. "What about enrollment?"

"Your mom had me take care of them a couple weeks ago when she decided to go get help. You can't just not go to school, Sakura."

_Don't be selfish. Don't be selfish. Don't be selfish_. "Huh, guess you're right. Tenten, would you help a lowly sophomore get around school?"

"Hell yeah! Lemme go call Neji and Lee!" She bounded up the steps at the speed of light. You sigh and talk to your uncle a bit. Dinner went by fast (it was every person for themselves and since Tenten sees skipping meals as suicide, she made you mac'n'cheese). When it's time for lights out, you sneak your laptop out and turn it on, making sure to mention your sudden transfer in your blog.

You're sad you don't feel all that bad, but you were never really close to your friends. They were always just people… not that you didn't care for them, but you didn't _love _them. Your home life had always been too much and you hadn't been able to think much about social scenes. Maybe now, things would get better.

* * *

It was bigger than your last school, that's for school.

"There's about six hundred kids in the school per class. A big change from the city life, eh? My – er, our school is a bit on the private side. A lot of rich kids go here even though it's public. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah… weird…"

"Since school only started last week, you probably didn't miss much in any of your classes. Got the schedule Dad gave you?"

You take out a glob of paper from your bag. "Here." You give it a disgusted look. Your uncle decided to drop it in his orange juice before handing it over to you that morning.

"Good. Now, since we got here later than usual, we only have, like, two minutes before the bell rings to start school off. I do announcements, so I have to get in. Can't really show you the ropes like I wanted, sorry. But what's your first class?"

"Um… some art class in Art Room I. How many art rooms can there be?"

"Eight, I think. But Sasuke is in that class, if memory serves me right. I'll text him while I'm bolting to the office to check in and he'll scout you out. You'll be fine! The only things you gotta worry about is… well…"

"What?"

"People might judge you or make fun of you 'cause…"

"Why?!"

"Well, Sakura, this might come as a shock to you, but… your hair's _pink_."

Silence.

"… Right, well, see ya!"

"Tenten, wait!" It was pointless. Your outstretched hand was grabbing at an empty seat. You sighed and left her truck to sit amongst the ritzy and expensive cars by its lonesome. You had to worry about school. Not that you were all that nervous; as long as you had your cousin, you would be fine.

You walked into the two back doors of the school, being immediately thrown overboard into the sea of crowds. You saw people making out, talking, arguing, laughing, slapping… it was a bit too much for the first day of education. Not feeling like waiting around fro this Sasuke-person, you struggled to slide through all the people and made her way to the Art Room on your own.

Thanks to some directions you got from two friendly-looking guys, you realized how close you actually were and just knew to continue down a hallway you were in and you'd be homefree.

So there you were - walking down the hallway, seeing the door to her first period class at the end, and you felt so happy to se you had made it on your own. That is, until the bell rang. Nothing happened at first, but before you could count the seconds people were ramming into you one way, and then people shoved you into the opposite direction. You had to get to class before the next bell rang! You just had….

"_Bing! Bing! Bing!_"

… to get there on time. You sprinted down the hall, past the group of people who didn't care for school, and pushed the door open. Everyone looked at you weird and you just shoved herself into an available seat, dropping you're stuff to you're side as nonchalantly as possible as the announcements came on.

"Good morning! This is Tenten with the morning announcements, and today is September 5 for all those who _didn't _know." Tenten sounded like a newscaster. You laughed; it was funny to you. "Today's girl's field hockey practice has been changed from five to four at the middle school and all girls are expected to have all their gear with them. See Couch Kurenei if you can't make it or need a ride. The Broadcast Journalism Class hopes to have the Morning and Afternoon Show ready for viewing by next week, but until then you'll just have to listen instead of stare at the television. That's it for now - have a good rest of the day! Oh, and Principal Sarutobi wants to talk to the kid who used graffiti on the prized statues of our school's past principal's heads after school today… _you know who you are_."

The speakers clicked off and the students looked up at the teacher, who was at his desk reading a novel with two people smiling and holding hands. Yourecognized that book with some disgust, seeing how it was one of the famous actors Jiraiya's many perverted novel series called _Icha Icha Paradise_. Even the teacher looked odd, with silver hair standing tall and 75 of his thin face hidden behind a dark mask.

He looked up and seemed to smirk halfheartedly under his mask. "Alright, now, we're going to start our first project today!"

You feel your face pale. "It's been a week into the semester and there haven't been any projects started…?" you ask yourself in awe.

People sighed; a blonde shouted "Crap!" and you seemed to be the only happy person there. Until the teacher said, "Everybody partner up!"

Looks like making friends was an obstacle you were going to have to overcome sooner than you thought.

You thought you'd be the only one without a partner, and just watched everyone get together like magnets. An attractive boy with black hair caught your eye. All the girls were drooling as they looked at him, but he looked at the blonde and nodded as if to signify they were going to partner up or something. The blonde shook his, however, and started walking over to… you!

"Want to be my partner?" he asked casually. Before you could respond he was already pulling his desk next to yours with a stupid, cocky grin on his face. The black-haired guy glared at the blonde, and within a few seconds he was surrounded by girls who were fighting over who'd work with him, when a girl with brown hair won without as much as a threat.

"It's okay, Sasuke," she said seductively. "I got your back."

"You say it as if that's a good thing," the black-haired guy now dubbed Sasuke said in a bored tone, though venom was dripping off his words by the liter.

You turned your attention back to the blonde, who was smiling wide at you. "Are you new?"

You looked up and realized that the teacher hadn't made you introduce yourself. You beamed back at him. "Yeah. I'm Sakura."

He was about to ask you something else when the teacher cleared his throat. "Alright, now I want one partner from each group to come up and take the instructions from me and gather your materials once you discuss it with your partner."

Your partner gave you a pleading look that begged, "Let me do the fun stuff!" You nodded and he beamed as he ran up wildly and came back just as fast.

A guy with thick brown hair, a fur coat, and sharp canines walking by stopped and laughed. "What the hell has the world come to when you actually start listening to the teacher and actually doing what they say?"

He growled, "Shut up, Kiba! I'm going to do SO much better than you on this project -"

You tried to block out the boys friendly arguing when you noticed someone with blood red hair in the corner of the room watching their dispute. He was good looking, but not in the way Sasuke was. He looked so…

"Oh it's ON now!" Kiba said loudly, chasing the boy from her thoughts.

He walked away, but the intensity was still there. The blonde had a determined look in his eyes and you felt worried. What had you got involved with? "Sakura, let's start and show that LOSER he messed with the wrong person today!"

You now have a lump in your throat. Oh god. You nodded curtly and sat up straight. He forced a smile, "All we have to do is draw each other!"

You tilt your head. "Draw each other? That's it?"

He nodded. "Well, yeah. The paper just says to-"

"I'm going first," you stated rather than asked with supplies lined up neatly beside you. Your partner's mouth was slightly ajar and you giggled, "I'd shut you mouth if I where you. Unless you want me to draw it open."

He snapped it shut, but looked like he was thinking of something and said, "The name is Uzumaki Naruto, by the way."

"Oh… um, that's a nice name…" embarresment seeped into your face and stained your cheeks red. Why hadn't you asked him HIS name? How rude. Here he was being friendly and you don't even try to make conversation properly. Oh, whatever.

"Done," you announced a few minutes later (he just kept talking about ramen and you nodded during the whole sketching process). You passed it on to him. His entire face brightened at once. "Wow, Sakura, you're really, really good!"

"Thanks," you responded with an appreciative smile.

"Okay, my turn!" Naruto grabbed the supplies and went to town. "So, where did you move from?" he asked as he licked his lips in concentration.

You blinked. "Oh, I didn't really live that close, actually… some town near Tea."

"Oh, Tea's a big city, too. So why'd you move?"

You didn't think it was a good idea to let him know how you're mom's in rehab for drugs – it didn't strike you as a good topic of conversation on any level. You tried to think of something quick. "Oh, my parents wanted to… move to…" you remembered Tenten's mom – "Canada. Toronto. So, they said it would be alright if I stayed close to home and let me move in with my cousin… you might know her: Tenten."

His jaw dropped and he stopped drawing. "Tenten?! Really? Well, you gotta tell me her last name!!"

You tilt your head. "You don't know it?"

"NO ONE DOES! Not even White-Eyes or Bushy Brows!"

"Ah…" White Eyes? Bushy Brows? _WHAT_ _**THE**_ _**HELL**_?

"DONE!" he announced as several people looked around to see who screamed and why (of course they all nodded in understanding when they saw Naruto smiling and jumping out of his seat and went back to what they were doing). "Take a look Sakura - but try not to be _too_ jealous!"

Gee, short term memory much? You glared at him and snatched his drawing from his hands. You noticed that he made you look more like she popped out of some anime show only really nerdy people watched (A/N: …) rather than a real person, but other then that, it was really good…

You gave him a sheepish smile. "It's… it's good, Naruto."

He returned her smile with one of his own. "Glad you like it."

Kakashi _reluctantly _set his book aside, which he went back to read after circling the room. "Alright, pencils down! Err, except for that kid in the back of the classroom… who are you again?"

The students all reeled around in their seats to look at the student Kakashi was referring to. After seeing who it was, some students reeled back around looking like they just saw a group of angry moms. You noticed this and turned to see who it was as well. You blinked your sea foam greens at a boy in the back of the room.

He wasn't ugly (some of Sasuke's fan girls seemed to be glancing at him and Sasuke as if comparing them). He had blood red hair that framed his face with each silky-looking strand falling into place yet it had a rough, rouge look to it. He had a lean athletic build as if all he did was run but he looked as if all he wanted to do was sit around all day and be alone in his room.

Then there were his eyes… you looked straight at them with a look of awe on your face to match the ones of the other fan girls. His eyes were a bit hollow-looking. They were a dark, empty aquamarine. They had aligned them with thick black eyeliner perfectly. He was giving a bored look to Kakashi but there were things going on behind his eyes that only you could see… maybe that's why you was the only one with enough guts to keep looking at him...

"Gaara," he answered finally. He spared a look at you. Your mouth fell open a bit and you turned back around to the front of the room. "That's the guy I was looking at before…" you remembered.

"Okay, _Gaara_. Now, mind telling me what you were drawing with? It looked a bit like a blade, actually."

"Nothing," he answered slowly as if he was bored with school already. "I didn't draw anything."

Kakashi looked him up and down with his free eye as if debating whether or not berating Gaara would do anything. He eventually decided not to waste valuable reading time and shrugged it off. "For all those who did the assignment," Kakashi continued, "Pick the best and pass them forward."

They all did as told. You ended up passing Naruto's forward (he looked so excited) instead of your own.

Kakashi started piecing through the pile. "Hmm… alright, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to hold up a picture. I'll call out a name and ask who the picture is of and what you think is good and what you think needs improvement. Got it? Good. Okay… You, Kiba, right? Who's this picture of?"

You tuned out and resumed looking at Gaara. This was easy to do out of the corner of your eye, considering you both sat at different corners of the room. He was currently eyeing something outside the window… was it the football field, perhaps? Cars in the parking lot? Who knew?

There was just something about him…

A girl with blonde hair pulled into four different ponytails whispered something in his ear and jabbed a finger at you. His head remained still but his eyes roved over to catch your gaze. You kept looking for a few seconds until you dragged your gaze back to Kakashi, who looked at you as well. "Ah, Sakura, who do you believe this is?"

He held a picture up and you were completely befuddled. It looked as if someone paid a nine-year-old to ditch school and draw a picture for whoever was supposed to do it. You honestly couldn't imagine it even resembling someone she made contact with in her life.

"I have no idea. It's horribly drawn and to even guess a name would be shameful to myself."

Some people gasped and others cracked up hysterically. Naruto was one of the ones howling with laughter. You saw Sasuke snickered. Gaara continued looking out the window.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke's partner flung her hand dramatically into the air. "She just insulted me!"

Sakura snorted. Figures.

Kakashi, on the other hand, shrugged. "Not so much you as your drawing, Taylor. Sakura, you now know she was drawing Sasuke. What did you like and what could she improve on? And try to be subtle on the latter, would you?"

You nodded a bit as the girl's head swung in front of her in annoyance. "Well, I think it's on a level way under that of our age groups. _Sasuke_ appears to have all his features a different size and his head looks like it's about to eat his body. On the bright side… she used pretty colors."

Sakura knew Emiko only used a number two pencil and it was only a few shades of graphite.

_Everyone_ had only used a number two pencil.

"Good point," Kakashi muttered, not even looking at the piece or at the now flabbergasted girl beside the smirking Sasuke.

The bell rung and Kakashi waved a hand in dismissal, but not before motioning Gaara to have a word with him.

"Ne, Sakura." Naruto popped out of nowhere beside her with Sasuke in tow trying to avoid the reach of avid fan girls. "Where you going next?"

"Honors Biology."

He nodded with a serious look on his face. "Right… sounds like a fun class… I can show you were it is…."

* * *

It seemed like years passed until you got to lunch. You had a few people introduce themselves to you and were proud to say you made decent conversation, but other than Naruto you made no new 'official' friends. _'I'm new – I shouldn't expect shitloads of new friends the first day,'_ you told herself defiantly, trying to comfort the lonely and awkward feeling you got from staring at the cafeteria tables that were filling up fast.

You sighed and pushed through the lunch line. When you emerged, you found everyone going straight to their tables. You had to no table and no one to look for. That sucks…

"Hey! You!" You turned her head to see a beautiful girl with long blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail. She looked like she stepped out of a magazine; she had layered a purple tank top over a lime green t-shirt and dark jeans with flip flops. "Ten sent me over here to fetch you so you can sit with us, alright? So c'mon."

You nodded and mentally thanked Tenten for the save, but slapped her for making you seem desperate by sending some model to 'fetch' you. By the time you reached the table, the girl had collapsed into a seat across from a boy who gave off cold vibes with moons for eyes and long, mahogany hair. He was, in a nutshell, gorgeous but didn't look like he cared one way or the other. You noticed Tenten sitting beside him and grinning up at you like a moron. You sat down and smiled back the best you could.

"Hi. Fancy seeing you here…"

"Haha! How's your first day been so far?"

"Oi, you're the idiot's crush," Sasuke voiced out. You hadn't noticed him sitting beside the boy with white eyes.

"Err, that's right!" Tenten jabbed a finger at you. "Everyone, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is everyone," she said proudly.

"Hi, Sakura!" most of the table said while waving enthusiastically. The blonde told you her name was Ino and you gave her the courtesy of saying that was a… umm… _short _name. Other people's names that you heard mentioned just swam around your head and you put their faces with the wrong ones (of this you were positive). You had an even harder time when they told you about the school and 'fun facts you should know'. They were out of your head the second you realized they were talking to you.

"Hey, Sakura," an older girl beside Tenten asked you "Did you say something to Gaara?"

"No, why?"

"He's just standing in the hall…and it's not like he has lunch this period or anything…"

You looked behind Tenten's shoulder and caught sight of a boy standing in the hallway and motioning for you to come out.

"You're right, Stacy. Weird… he's actually really popular but he scares off most people," Tenten stated coolly. "Are you going out?"

You shook her head. "No way!"

"Good choice," Ino agreed.

"Very," her friend added.

"How come?"

"Well, I talked to his sister a bit about why he's so… himself," Tenten explained casually. "Apparently he had it rough growing up and about five years ago he put some kid in the hospital and was expelled, so his family moved here so he could get a fresh start… only after his parents donated lots of money to the school."

"Doesn't stop him from being popular," a guy pointed out.

"Or dreamy!" a girl said and plenty more giggled.

You looked shocked and tore your eyes away from Gaara. "Why? What did he do to the kid?"

Tenten shrugged. "Temari wouldn't say too much. She usually doesn't talk about him when given the option." You felt a chill rush through you. You looked back through the glass doors that led to the hallway. Gaara was gone.

* * *

The bell rang. People were rushing to their lockers, to the buses, to their cars… they were rushing around _everywhere_. You had to take the bus home as well since Tenten had a gazillion sports after school, but you was in no hurry to be the first one on it. You put the books you needed neatly into your bag and slammed your locker shut. As you were turning to walk the almost deserted hallway a hand gripped your arm.

You had a feeling you knew who it was. You turned around to see Gaara looming a few inches above you with a look of distaste. You felt panic sprint through your body and was reminded of a not-so-pleasant time back at your old school.

"What?" you asked defiantly. You decided that he was no real threat and _he_ couldn't scare _her_.

'_**He doesn't scare you? Even after all those things you heard about him at lunch?' **_a voice in your head you dubbed 'Inner Sakura' wondered.

'_Not the right time! Go away - I can handle this on my own.'_

'_**Your funeral… No, wait, OUR funeral! Think about what you're doing!'**_

'_I'm just standing here and looking at him…'_

'_**Yeah, well he just asked you a question and you're just staring on!'**_

"What?" You said aloud a bit louder than you'd have liked to, on account of he still had a nice, firm grip on your arm.

"I asked you why you wouldn't talk to me during your lunch," he repeated with his eyes thinning slightly.

"Oh. Well, sorry. Can't we talk tomorrow? I'm going to miss my bus!"

"No, _now_."

'_**I told you to reconsider! NOW IT'S TOO LATE!'**_

'_Shut UP!'_

He suddenly pulled you so close that your nose was an inch away from his and you took notice to how short he was compared to other guys. He didn't say anything, so you gave in. "Fine, make me late for my ride home, you _insensitive_ _bastard_!" You were miffed. The panic came fleeting back and it wasn't going away. You began to struggle. "You can't blame me for wanting to avoid you! I mean, come on! You don't exactly portray a nice guy, you know! Now you made me pissed and I'm telling you to _let go_!"

He was taken back by your word choices and insults and how upset you were that he was holding her arm and obediently released her. You immediately raced to the front doors and swung them open to reveal – a completely bus-free parking lot.

Grand.

'_**Well… at least we're not six feet underground!' **_Inner Sakura chirped merrily.

You growled. Your inner self was so supposed to be mad she skipped a fight and didn't teach him a lesson on manhandling her… not happy!

"I'll give you a ride home."

You looked to see Gaara standing nonchalantly by your side and staring idly up into the sky.

"You're in my grade, right?"

He said nothing.

"You probably only have a permit if anything!

He kept his mouth shut.

"You'll get in trouble!"

"I'll do what I want to."

You bit your lip. Tenten's house was so far away… but you knew better… oh, why couldn't your life go back to being uneventful like it was at your old school… this is ridiculous…

You shook her head.

'_**Do it! What have you got to lose?'**_

'_Let's see… he has a rap sheet, he doesn't have a license, he put someone in a hospital…'_

'_**So? He's sexy! Now that's what I call redemption!'**_

'_Weren't YOU the one who told me to get away?'_

'_**Cha… but that was BEFORE he offered you a ride in his b-e-a-u-ti-ful car!'**_

After your intense inner battle, you went with your gut feeling rather than your brain.

"Fine, only this once and only because I live so far away. But I'm warning you - I have mace."

You didn't really carry mace around with you, so you just made a mental note to order some offline later.

He quietly led her to his car (A/N: Let's just say it's a red Cadillac Zien… they're so gorgeous…) and got in the drivers seat. You got shot gun and made sure to get buckled tightly and move your seat back as far as you could. You proceeded to tell him your address and he nodded mutely; obviously he knew where Tenten lived.

"If you had no intention of speaking with me then why were you staring at me all morning in class?"

The question came as a surprise and caught you off guard. You frowned a bit; not enjoying being backed into a corner. You were preparing to lie to him, but you found it hard to even think about doing that to him. After a few minutes you answered. "I wasn't."

He seemed to accept that answer, but you couldn't tell. He had the same facial expression on the entire car ride.

When he got to the front of Tenten's house, he unlocked the car doors.

"Thanks for the ride," you mumbled miserably. It _was_ his fault you had to ride with him in the first place.

You were walking up to your front door when you heard a soft whisper. You turned to ask him to repeat but he was already speeding off. You shrugged it off. You had too much to do tonight then to be worried with him …

**

* * *

**

DYEH:

_It's 1:27 AM and I am TIRED! Sorry for the lack of fluff, but I kind of wanted to make it a bit more realistic. Also sorry that Gaara was literally introduced half-way through it and then given a lack of information. So stop asking yourselves what Gaara was doing with a blade (Is he a cutter?) or anything about that kid he put in a hospital (HIS DEMON DID IT!). This will clear up as chapters roll by, of course! So, sit back and enjoy the writing… or hate it, whatever floats you boat… or sinks it… geeze I'm sleepy…._

_Also this is my first Gaara and Sakura fic… so throw some confetti my way._


	2. Soft to the Touch

**Man Candy**

**Piece 2: Soft to the Tocuh**

**Naruto is not mine… not YET… hmkay, never…**

**--**

**Sakura **was dead set on avoiding Gaara the next day. She didn't even go to the art room in the morning before the bell rang (in case he was there) and instead ventured over to where her new group of 'friends' hung out by the cafeteria. As she was coming over, some of the people she saw at lunch started smiling and saying hi, causing Naruto to stop talking and beam at her.

"Sakura! I was just telling everyone how awesome you are at drawing me!"

She smiled awkwardly at her peer's looks of awe. Ino came over and slapped her back. "Who'd thought? And here I thought you were talent-less just like the majority of us!"

"Speak for yourself," Tenten laughed, eyeing Neji who was talking to a bunch of people a few feet away.

Sakura noticed the look she had wasn't anything like the way she looked at anyone else. In fact, she'd never seen that look on anyone ever before. She assumed what it was and decided to ask and see if it was true.

"Are you and Neji going out?"

The group burst into laughter.

"Nope, we're just friends!" she answered quickly, sparing a glance over at him again as a light blush crept onto her cheeks.

"_Just friends_?" Amaya, the girl who sat beside Tenten at lunch, chortled. She turned to face Sakura and everyone leaned in closer. "Those two have been 'best friends' ever since Lee moved here all the way back in good ol' elementary school. Those three STILL do everything together!"

"Lee?" Sakura queried with a tilt of her head.

More laughter.

"I'll introduce you to him at the end of school," Tenten smiled. "He's really nice, but a bit too… _youthful _for most people's tastes. He's my other friend you haven't met yet."

"Yeah, that and the fact he obsesses over the gym teacher like he has the answer to life or something!" Ino giggled.

"You know," Tenten muttered, "he said he did know the answer to life once…"

The group was now laughing so hard other people were looking over in expectance to see what was so hilarious. Everyone except for Sakura, who was still looking rather perplexed.

'_**What a bunch of whack-jobs.'**_

'_Hey! You said it would be great to have some friends! You're the reason I went to sit with them!'_

'_**Since when do you listen to me?'**_

'_Ah… touché.'_

_--_

"We started off with drawing people yesterday just to pass time. So today we'll really be getting into our first unit - watercolor. I have a few vases and baskets up here filled with flowers, so if you'd please come up and take three different plants then get to your seats."

Everyone walked groggily up to the flowers. Sakura groaned aloud when she stepped up beside Naruto, who was avidly talking to Sasuke about what the best toppings to pork ramen were. He stopped when he saw her. "Saku-chan!"

"Saku-chan?" Sasuke arched a brow.

"It's her nickname!" Naruto said proudly.

Sakura groaned again. She hated people slashing her name apart to make it _easier_ to say, but Naruto was to euphoric about his creativity for her to berate him.

"Hey, Pinkie!" Sakura blinked and looked behind her to see the blonde girl who sat beside Gaara making her way up to her.

"What is it?"

The girl stood a good three inches over Sakura and gave her a mean stare. "I heard you back-talked Gaara yesterday."

"Hmm? Oh, well he was hurting my arm," Sakura explained as she motioned to her bruised forearm.

"Yeah, but he let go and took you home, didn't he?"

Naruto and Sasuke both gave Sakura peculiar looks. She shook her head fast. "In my defense, he _made_ me miss my bus and I didn't want my parents to flip out on me for coming home late because I had to walk!"

She gave Sakura an apologetic look. "Just… just leave him alone, okay?" She stalked off and cut in front of the other students waiting in line.

"Obsessive girlfriend much?" she murmured.

"Try obsessive _sister_," Sasuke corrected. He went back to his usual bored look while Naruto kept his shocked one.

"Whoa, are you telling me that girl is really Temari? They look nothing alike!"

Naruto kept giving her an odd look. "Why did he hurt your arm and make you miss your bus?"

Sakura shrugged. "No clue. He said something about me staring at him during class yesterday and then not talking to him, but I heard he's a whack anyway."

Naruto's serious face dropped once they reached the flowers. "I want the big yellow one!"

"That would be a sunflower…" Sakura informed him with a large sweat drop forming.

"Right! I want - OI, SASUKE, YOU BASTARD! I CALLED THE PRETTY SUNFLOWER ALREADY!"

The two boys started to play tug-of-war with the (quite strong) flower as everyone gathered around. Kakashi just kept reading his novel with a giggle every so often.

Sakura was laughing along with everyone else until she felt a hot breath on her neck. She tilted her head to the side to see Gaara's eyes fixed on hers.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked in a bored fashion, playing off the fact she was feeling uncomfortable.

He said nothing and looked ahead with his breath still beating against her neck. Sakura squinted her eyes and cautiously stepped forward to get her flowers while Naruto and Sasuke continued to yell insults back and forth and hurry to her desk.

By the time everyone had their flowers (Naruto and Sasuke ended up tearing the flower apart and had to settle for different ones) Kakashi was ready to interact again. "Now, I want you all to start off by reading the sheet I got Emiko to pass out while The War for the Flower was being held… haha, get it? The… haha… War of the Flower… heh…because they were fighting... over a flower… hehehe… ehhh… oh, I _hate_ teaching high schoolers…"

--

Sakura was a mess by the time lunch came around.

She had forgotten that she made fun of Emiko's 'drawing of Sasuke' the previous day and Emiko had finally spread rumors of her to her friends… who were in Sakura's classes. And of course her teachers all choose today to assign partner activities….

"Sakura!"

The said girl saw Tenten waving her over. "I talked to Lee during first period today -"

"Oh, what do you have?"

" - What? Oh, Broadcast Journalism. I thought you knew that already? Anyway, he said he and Gai are doing some extreme training after school today at the new gym, so if you want to meet him today we should go now."

"NOW?" Sakura cried out. "But I love lunch…"

She laughed. "I'll buy you lunch tomorrow, okay? Lee just likes meeting new people and got really excited when I told him about you." She tugged Sakura through the lunch line and into the hallway and waited a moment until Tenten caught Neji's attention and motioned him to come with them. Once he did, they started off down the long hallway.

"So how exactly did you all become friends?" Sakura queried as soon as Neji met up with them. She never really asked Tenten.

"Well, in third grade Lee was new to school and everyone made fun of him really bad and he thought that if he challenged Neji here, who was popular as always, to fight and won then _he'd_ be popular and score some friends. However, Neji beat him to a pulp as expected and he was even more hated. About a week later he challenged him for a rematch and I decided to break them up in the middle of their fight because I thought Neji was really gonna kill him. Besides, I wanted to beat up Neji myself… I heard he stole some weapons from my book bag, you see."

"You carried around weapons with you?" Sakura asked looking stunned. She knew she had a bit of an obsession with the stuff (weird, huh? But that was Sakura's family for you…) but she hadn't thought t carried over to school!

Neji smirked.

Tenten nodded. "It helps me feel protected. Now Neji, did Lee tell you who was in his gym class?"

Neji kept staring straight ahead. "No, I hadn't thought to ask."

Sakura watched them converse amongst each other and tried to stop shaking. She thought Tenten looked so nice and innocent… and she carried around weapons with her in elementary school? What a scary thought. She crossed her fingers in hopes that Tenten would never get mad at her here in case she still did.

"Here we are!" Tenten said brightly as she swung the gymnasium doors open. Sakura saw a large group of kids from each grade were sitting around a tall man wearing a jumpsuit and a boy who looked identical nodding at what he was saying.

"Ah, my favorite pupil's closest friends!" the man laughed loudly. "Come in, Lee's friends! He told me you would be stopping by! Now tell me, who's this girl that is about to meet the Lotus of Konoha?"

Tenten and Neji pushed Sakura forward simultaneously.

"SAKURA!" Naruto shouted from his spot on the floor and he started to wave both his arms wildly.

She waved slightly back but stopped when she saw eyes boring into her… Gaara's eyes, to be exact.

"Well, come on!" Tenten prodded. The three walked over to Lee as he ran over to meet them halfway in the large gymnasium. Everyone else in the class decided to watch the meeting. Even the teacher opted to see how the interactions went.

Sakura's face paled as he walked over. He had a bowl-shaped hair due and massive eye brows. Oh, that jumpsuit didn't give him points either. Now she had a good idea why everyone laughed whenever he was mentioned. "Err, hi, Lee -"

"You must be Sakura!" Lee gushed as he raced over to her and cupped his hands around hers. "You are so beautiful! Please do me the honor of letting me be your boyfriend! I vow to protect and cherish you like the youthful flower of my heart you became at first sight!"

Sakura's eye twitched as the room went silent. Tenten was the first to bust out laughing. Neji smirked a bit next. It was a few seconds after that the room exploded with laughter. Sakura looked beyond Lee to see Gaara glaring at the corner of the room.

"Um, _no_," she said quickly.

His face fell a bit but quickly brightened. "I understand…"

"Whew…"

"I understand that you are playing hard to get to impress me and give me the thrill of getting your attention!"

"Eh?"

"Do not worry, my dearest Sakura! I will do all I can to earn your love!" He smiled wide (she distinctly thought she saw a star shine off his teeth) and gave her the thumbs up.

"What a youthful display of affections!" The teacher cried.

"Oh Gai!" Lee cried as well and ran over to hug him. The room went quiet again and Tenten and Neji decided to grab Sakura and leave at this point in time. Sakura was upset about their rush, because she didn't have time to see Gaara's reaction.

"Is everyone at this school weird?" Sakura thought aloud as the bell rang to signal the ending of lunch.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, pretty much… but you shouldn't be talking."

Sakura gave her a confused look.

Neji shook his head. "You have pink hair… remember?"

--

Sakura only had one other class with her muse. That class also happened to be her least favorite class seeing how the subject bored her so much. It didn't help that she was not very good at it, either. Even on her first day when all they did was get a 'Goals for the Curriculum' paper she knew she was in deep. The class was none other than -

"Computer Applications is a very simple course, yet I find myself stressing the fact that it is not how _fast_ you can type, but rather the _accuracy_ of what you type!" the plump female teacher – Mrs. Taipu – said for the umpteenth time that class.

Sakura growled at her monitor… which was blank and had yet to be turned on. Sure she had a computer at home, but she only ever used it for IMing, projects, and the occasional checking up of blogs. Other than that she didn't touch the thing. Why would she? She had a life to worry about! She wondered how other people spend their lives on a computer… maybe seeing stuff on the internet, but still it seemed _weird_.

"Hairino, why have you not started your computer?" Taipu asked sternly.

Sakura gave a weak, fake smile. "It's _Haruno_, ma'am. And, I was getting right to it!"

The teacher nodded weakly. "Just hurry up please."

Sakura resisted the urge to bash her keyboard into her head. She pressed the button and watched the screen fizz into start up mode while muttering swear words to herself. When it got onto the log on screen she typed her name and password in and waited for the teacher to proceed.

"Now that Haranu ("_Bitch_…" was heard rather loudly from Sakura's row) has caught up, I would like you all to double-click on the icon of a smiling computer screen under the program name Quik's Typing Adventures."

A massive groan filled the room. Sakura - like everyone else - double clicked the icon. Suddenly, her computer started to make strange noises…

"_Cri-iii-ik! Crrriiii-iik! CRRIIIIKKK!!"_

"Horuno! What have you _done_?" Taipu screeched as she ran to massage the sides of Sakura's precious computer.

"No-nothing!" Sakura argued with a red blush to rival Hinata's when Naruto came into a conversation. "I just double-clicked, like _you_ said, and it started to make sounds! I swear!"

Taipu gave her a sharp look and tried to move the mouse to the start button, but since things always seem to get worse fast for our dear heroine, the mouse was stuck - her computer froze.

"Never I my twenty-six years of teaching have I had a computer freeze…" she mumbled to herself darkly. She cast a weary glance at Sakura. "I want you in the back of the room were I can't see you… Sit in the empty desk beside Gaara… _he_ has some knowledge about computers." The woman neglected Sakura's frantic look and she eyeballed the class. "I'm going to go see Mr. Anders down at maintenance, so work on homework and be quiet until I get back!" With that she swung her way out the door.

The room erupted with cheers for Sakura and melted into gossip.

Sakura gulped as she swung her bag over her shoulder. She'd rather have had the woman beat-up her name all during class than send her back to Gaara! She gave a quick look at him. He was giving her a look she hadn't yet seen him wear…

He looked _amused_.

She huffed and walked (with much dignity) over to her seat, where she threw her bag down and collapsed into the seat without so much as saying hello to him.

"You can only ignore me for so long," he said suddenly with the same amusement that was etched on his face echoing in his voice.

She scoffed. "Try me."

"I intend to."

She felt a shiver run through her spine… but it wasn't fear. She half glanced at him and stared into his eyes as he stared back.

'_Maybe those things about him putting someone in the hospital are just really nasty rumors… he seems nice enough. Then again, his staring is getting kind of creepy…'_

'_**If he's as nice as he is hot, I say take the risk!'**_

She did.

"So, I here you're related to Temari…" Sakura began and instantly berated herself for the horrible topic.

To her surprise, he didn't seem to think it was too stupid to answer. "She's my half-sister."

"Really?"

He nodded slightly. She seemed interested… interested in _him_. He felt a burning feeling in his stomach like he did yesterday when Temari whispered to him that Sakura was eyeing him. He'd tell her more to keep the feeling and to keep her eyes on him. "Yes… I also have an older half-brother that goes to school here. He's in the twelfth grade, though, so I doubt you have any classes with him." She smiled slightly in understanding. The oldest people she was friends with were Tenten, Neji, Lee, and their friends - and they were all juniors.

"Well, I don't have any siblings. I used to always try to do these stupid things to get my parents to have another baby when I was little so I could have some brothers and sisters to play with like make them graphs or label their names on a Barbie and Ken doll holding a baby. You know, stupid stuff like that, but I stopped that as I got older."

"Why?"

"My parents didn't seem to like the idea of having more children," she answered woefully. She directed a small smile at him. "That's why you should be really happy that you have people who at least share one parent with you. I think you should take advantage of that."

Gaara stopped looking at her. If he'd continued to stare longingly at her the way he was… if was going to keep hanging on her every word and mentally begging her to say more… if he kept wanting to be closer to her… he'd lose her.

Sakura took the hint and assumed she had said too much. She couldn't be more grateful when the teacher returned - even though she was going on about how Hakura Saruno was her first ever student to mess up a computer by following instructions. Life is _grand_.

--

**DYEH**: _Another installment - more waiting for me to update - same routine… oh well. Everyone goes through it. 95 of all the fics on this site make you wait eons until the author updates anyway, so I feel your pain… that is, if you're feeling any… please review…_


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